Berlin: German solar
technology firms came up empty-handed in India this year, raising
questions about their competitiveness, a top industry expert said
Thursday.

Solar industry expert Wolfgang Hummel of the Berlin Technology and
Industry University presented a study which showed that German
firms failed to win a single one of the 37 solar projects put up
for tender by the Indian government this year.

"This result poses questions about the competitiveness of German
companies," Hummel said, asserting that many firms were not fit
enough to compete on the world market.

He said this is a crucial issue because in the future the German
solar market - till now the world's largest thanks to the
Renewable Energy Law (EEG) which promotes the solar sector - is
going to start losing in importance, according to industry
projections.

German manufacturers did not have the right offering and had
concentrated too strongly on the domestic market, Hummel argued.

"The sumptuous EEG promotion in Germany makes (the firms) fat and
lazy," he said about the effect of the subsidies provided under
the renewable energy law.

Last January India unveiled an ambitious solar programme aimed at
building up the country's capacity from virtually zero to 20
gigawatts - the performance of about 20 nuclear plants - by 2022.

As a first step, New Delhi invited bids on photovoltaic facilities
totalling some 150 megawatts, in addition to seven solar-thermal
power plants of 470 megawatts capacity.

Hummel said 301 companies bid on the projects. Many were won by
domestic Indian firms thanks to the unique local bid tender
specifications. But Chinese firms, such as Suntech, also won a
number of contracts.

The expert compared the Indian solar sector to that of the German
machinery industry: "The Indians want practical solutions at a
favourable cost and not sophisticated expensive high-tech
products."

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